Tag: #crimethiller

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A BOOO-k Spotlight Thursday: Killing The Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

From hiding under the bed, I brought into my spooky spotlight this week the recent release of the third book in the Boogeyman series, KILLING THE BOOGEYMAN by Richard Chizmar.

Killing The Boogeyman (Boogeyman series)

Published: October 6th 2026

Genre: Horror, Fiction, Crime mystery, Murder mystery, Thriller

Notorious serial killer Joshua Gallagher—dubbed “the Boogeyman” by the media—has vanished from prison. One moment, he was locked inside a maximum-security cell; the next, he was gone, leaving behind on the wall a crude hangman puzzle and two chilling words: IT’S TIME.

Now, days later, the world is coming apart again. Bodies are turning up near writer and Gallagher confidante Richard Chizmar’s home, echoing the Boogeyman’s signature horrors. The news frenzy reignites while the police chase shadows…even as Gallagher’s twisted true crime fanbase celebrates online, acknowledging that he’s something more than human now.

To everyone else, it’s a desperate hunt for answers. To Chizmar, it’s more like destiny closing in. The evidence, the sightings, the voices in the dark all point to one unthinkable conclusion: the Boogeyman never left. And very soon, Chizmar must come face-to-face with the thing wearing Gallagher’s skin, and learns all too quickly that some nightmares don’t return—they evolve.

Check out where the horror begins in

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard Chizmar is the author of New York Times bestselling novels Chasing the Boogeyman, Becoming the Boogeyman, Memorials, and Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting (cowritten with son, W.H. Chizmar), and coauthor (with Stephen King) of the New York Times bestselling novella Gwendy’s Button Box, the novel Gwendy’s Final Task, and the solo novella Gwendy’s Magic Feather. His short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, most recently, the bestselling anthology, The End of The World as We Know It: New Stories of Stephen King’s The Stand. He is the founder and publisher of the specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense, Cemetery Dance. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustees award. Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages worldwide, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.

Follow him on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky: @RichardChizmar, or visit his website at RichardChizmar.com.

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BOOK REVIEW: Barron Midnight Unearthed by Dblkrose

Barron Midnight Unearthered

Published: July 12th, 2025

Genre: Supernatural horror/ Fantasy/Suspense/Black African Mystery Thriller

When justice lies dormant, the dead will not.

In the haunted heart of Tremé, where ancestral spirits whisper through jasmine-flavored smoke and secrets hang heavier than the southern air, Gabriel Saint-Croix—a criminology student raised on ghost stories and generational grief—is caught between the worlds of the living and the dead, uniquely tethered by both bloodline and belief. A criminology student with a legacy soaked in flood waters and betrayal, Gabriel is drawn into a web of lies surrounding his father’s mysterious death—a case sealed shut since Hurricane Katrina.

But when his search for truth nearly kills him, something hungry awakens to answer his call.

Reborn through ritual and rage, Gabriel awakens as Baron Midnight—a vessel of vengeance clad in myth and shadow. Now wielding power born of grief, grave dirt, and ancestral justice, he must confront a corrupt police force, a network of conspirators, and the question that haunts his soul: Can true vengeance ever set you free?

Steeped in Southern Gothic mysticism and Afrofuturist lore, Baron Midnight: Unearthed is a novella of rebirth and reckoning, where family, legacy, and truth converge in a tale as sharp as a sickle and as enduring as time.

REVIEW

New Orleans gets its supernatural vigilante in Baron Midnight Unearthed. It’s Candyman meets “The Crow,” yeah, that is it, in this spellbinding debut novella by Dblkrose.  You see, Madame Norie is known for her spiritual guidance. When her deceased police officer son’s ex-partner comes unexpectedly into her parlor with his girlfriend for a reading, Madame Norie learns the truth about her son’s so-called accidental death. When her grandson, a rising college student in criminology, discovers his father was murdered, he starts digging, only to get brutally beaten to near death. Justice, vengeance cry out, and Baron Midnight hears. 

Considering I read and promote books for a living, reading has lately felt like a job, rather than an enjoyment. I have to say, Barron Midnight Unearthed brought back that joy. While the book is only 100 pages long, I was thoroughly engrossed and surprised to have finished it in just 4 hours while waiting in the waiting room with my kids at therapy. I love it when a book reads like a film in your mind as you read, and that is how Baron Midnight reads. 

Dblkrose’s writing style is smooth as jazz with great dramatic breath. Not overly descriptive, he provides just enough to let your imagination flourish and fill in the rest, even with the action scenes! Each slash is written so poetically. He does everything right because he is a storyteller. Not a writer. Not an author. A storyteller. Many might claim they are, but very few truly grasp the true nature of the honored title.  I thought storytellers were a dying breed, but no, our ancestors still thrive in this crazy time we live in.

Baron Midnight Unearthed has a modern, folksy paranormal mystery cadence that captivates and holds you, pulls you in until the end. The story takes place in the Treme neighborhood in New Orleans, which I had never heard of. More proof this guy is a storyteller, as all stories teach us something.

Overall rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(Five stars)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carlton DeCosta, writing as Dblkrose, is a veteran, visionary, and founder of Black Spyder Publishing. Born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in North Carolina, he brings a global perspective to grounded, genre-bending storytelling rooted in grief, legacy, and transformation. A Navy veteran with a deep love for horror, fantasy, manga, and folklore, Carlton channels his lived experiences into narratives that haunt, heal, and demand remembrance. Baron Midnight: Unearthed is his declaration of narrative intent—where ancestral trauma meets supernatural justice in the shadows of New Orleans.

Learn more about Carlton and his writing at https://www.blkspyder.com/

Follow him on Instagram @dblkrose